Jane Kim, a Democrat and former San Francisco supervisor, is running for California insurance commissioner in the Nov. 3 general election.
Kim led the June 2 top-two primary with approximately 26.8% of the vote, according to the Los Angeles Times. She faces Democrat Ben Allen in the general election. California's insurance commissioner regulates the state's insurance market, approves or denies rate changes and oversees consumer protections, including homeowner policies in wildfire-prone hillside areas like those in Beverly Hills, Bel Air and Holmby Hills.
Candidate information
- Party: Democratic
- Education: Bachelor of arts in political science and Asian American studies, Stanford University; Juris Doctor, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (2009)
- Background: Born July 9, 1977, in Manhattan, New York, to South Korean immigrant parents. First Korean American elected official in San Francisco, according to Wikipedia.
Experience and public service
According to Wikipedia, Kim served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors representing District 6 from January 2011 to January 2019. She also served as member and president of the San Francisco Board of Education.
Kim worked as a youth community organizer at the Chinatown Community Development Center before holding office, according to Wikipedia. She later served as California political director and national regional political director for the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign and as inaugural executive director of the California Working Families Party.
Kim also worked as a civil rights attorney, according to her campaign website.
As supervisor, Kim said on her campaign website, she passed California's first $15 minimum wage, negotiated affordable housing agreements and expanded free childcare for all low- and middle-income families.
On the issues
The following positions are drawn from Kim's campaign website and her campaign priorities page. They reflect the candidate's own statements.
Homeowner and disaster insurance
Kim said she would provide natural disaster insurance for all residents, require that insurers pay disaster survivors immediately and invest in safer homes and communities. She said she would make sure premiums actually pay for claims and launch market conduct examinations to hold insurers accountable.
Healthcare coverage
Kim said she would enforce minimum coverage standards, create a statewide coverage calculator, end price discrimination for auto insurance and write a plan to provide what she calls "Medicare for Kids."
Consumer protection and government reform
Kim said she would freeze rates after a policyholder files a claim, penalize delays to speed up claim payments and create a public insurer performance dashboard so residents can compare companies.
Auto insurance
Kim said she would create a public option for affordable auto insurance and show how insurance companies spend policyholder money.
Campaign finance
Kim has pledged not to accept contributions from the insurance industry, the fossil fuel industry or corporate political action committees, and not to self-fund her campaign, according to her campaign website.
Endorsements
Kim's endorsements include U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, California State Controller Malia Cohen and labor activist Dolores Huerta, according to her campaign website and CalMatters. Labor endorsements include the California Labor Federation, California Nurses Association, SEIU California, California Teachers Association and the AFL-CIO.
The Platinum Tribune candidate questionnaire was sent to Jane Kim's campaign. No response was received as of Oct. 9, 2026. The policy positions above are drawn from her public campaign website and public records.
